Annual number of births by world region in Japan

Japan: Annual number of births by world region was 749,884 in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
749,884
Change on year
down 4.7%
World rank
39th
of 236 countries
All-time high
2.46 million
in 1950
All-time low
749,884
in 2023
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Annual number of births by world region in Japan, 1950–2023

500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M195019862023

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for annual number of births by world region in Japan is 749,884, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.

The figure is down 4.7% on the previous year and down 26.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual number of births by world region in Japan peaked at 2.46 million in 1950 and was at its lowest, 749,884, in 2023.

Japan ranks 39th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.

Annual number of births by world region in Japan, year by year

Annual values for Annual number of births by world region in Japan, 1950 to 2023.
Year Value Change
1950 2.46 million —
1951 2.25 million -8.6%
1952 2.11 million -6.2%
1953 1.97 million -6.8%
1954 1.86 million -5.2%
1955 1.82 million -2.4%
1956 1.75 million -3.9%
1957 1.65 million -5.8%
1958 1.73 million +4.9%
1959 1.70 million -1.7%
1960 1.67 million -1.5%
1961 1.64 million -1.7%
1962 1.66 million +1.2%
1963 1.70 million +2.4%
1964 1.77 million +3.7%
1965 1.87 million +6.0%
1966 1.48 million -20.8%
1967 1.98 million +33.5%
1968 1.91 million -3.1%
1969 1.91 million -0.5%
1970 1.95 million +2.5%
1971 2.06 million +5.5%
1972 2.13 million +3.2%
1973 2.18 million +2.8%
1974 2.12 million -3.0%
1975 1.97 million -7.0%
1976 1.87 million -5.0%
1977 1.79 million -4.7%
1978 1.74 million -2.6%
1979 1.68 million -3.6%
1980 1.60 million -4.8%
1981 1.53 million -4.4%
1982 1.50 million -2.0%
1983 1.48 million -0.9%
1984 1.46 million -1.8%
1985 1.39 million -4.5%
1986 1.34 million -3.8%
1987 1.30 million -2.7%
1988 1.26 million -2.8%
1989 1.20 million -4.8%
1990 1.18 million -2.2%
1991 1.18 million +0.6%
1992 1.18 million -0.7%
1993 1.16 million -1.2%
1994 1.20 million +3.5%
1995 1.17 million -2.5%
1996 1.19 million +1.4%
1997 1.19 million -0.4%
1998 1.20 million +1.0%
1999 1.18 million -1.2%
2000 1.20 million +1.2%
2001 1.18 million -1.4%
2002 1.16 million -1.5%
2003 1.14 million -2.2%
2004 1.12 million -1.5%
2005 1.08 million -3.7%
2006 1.10 million +1.6%
2007 1.09 million -0.2%
2008 1.09 million +0.0%
2009 1.07 million -1.8%
2010 1.07 million -0.4%
2011 1.05 million -1.9%
2012 1.04 million -1.3%
2013 1.02 million -1.3%
2014 998,487 -2.4%
2015 994,851 -0.4%
2016 967,960 -2.7%
2017 937,434 -3.2%
2018 910,945 -2.8%
2019 864,781 -5.1%
2020 840,688 -2.8%
2021 810,611 -3.6%
2022 786,576 -3.0%
2023 749,884 -4.7%

Japan compared with similar countries

  • Japan's 749,884 is above the median for high income countries, which is 21,434, 35.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
  • Japan's 749,884 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 30,561, 24.5× the median. (37 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Annual number of births by world region in Japan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1967 +33.5% 1.48 million 1.98 million

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 1.93 million 1.65 million 2.46 million 10
1960s 1.76 million 1.48 million 1.98 million 10
1970s 1.95 million 1.68 million 2.18 million 10
1980s 1.41 million 1.20 million 1.60 million 10
1990s 1.18 million 1.16 million 1.20 million 10
2000s 1.12 million 1.07 million 1.20 million 10
2010s 985,629 864,781 1.07 million 10
2020s 796,940 749,884 840,688 4

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 36 Ghana 888,947 compare
  2. 37 Chad 819,054 compare
  3. 38 Somalia 788,763 compare
  4. 40 Burkina Faso 728,612 compare
  5. 41 Germany 719,249 compare
  6. 42 Colombia 705,009 compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More population data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual number of births by world region in Japan?
Annual number of births by world region in Japan was 749,884 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual number of births by world region recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 2.46 million in 1950.
What is the lowest annual number of births by world region recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 749,884 in 2023.
How does Japan rank for annual number of births by world region?
Japan ranks 39th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is annual number of births by world region rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is down 26.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Annual number of births by world region. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Annual number of births by world region in Japan. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 11 November 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/annual-number-of-births-by-world-region/japan/

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About this data

Indicator
Annual number of births by world region
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed